The news that many feared, and expected, was released this week by Transport for London most tram and light rail projects in the capital will not now be going ahead because of a huge hole in funding partly due to the current economic climate. Schemes axed include the Cross River Tram, Crystal Palace extension to Tramlink, Oxford Street Tram and DLR Dagenham Dock extension.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, commented: 'London is the engine of the UK economy and it is vital that we continue to invest in better transport during these tough times. But at the same time, we need to focus on the projects that deliver real benefits for Londoners, and let go of those that lack the funding for completion. These projects still required a total of over £3bn in funding from the Government or other sources. At a time when Londoners are struggling it is our duty to get maximum bang for their buck and invest in fully funded schemes that we know can be delivered. I will not continue with the former Mayor's unrealistic and hollow promises. The last administration's commitments amounted to billions of pounds worth of schemes that London could simply never afford.
The projects which have been axed have never had government money committed to them and as such it has been decided that it would be too much of a risk to progress with them. The most high profile of the projects to go is the Cross River Tram which would have cost £1.3 billion to complete. No funding is currently in place for this and it is not likely that additional funding would be secured in the near future and as such TfL can not develop the scheme any further. A number of other transport improvements are expected as part of the TfL 10 year Business Plan which should help the affected communitities.
There is also no funding in place for the Crystal Palace extension of London Tramlink. A wider study is to be conducted involving the boroughs affected as part of the new sub-regional plans to assess the transport needs of this part of outer London. The recommendation from this study will form part of any future bid to government.
The Oxford Street Tram pipedream is said to be unaffordable and the disruption during construction would be substantial. This would have improved links between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road and always seemed to be a strange idea. TfL will now work alongside Westminster Council to implement streetscape improvements as part of New West End Company ORB proposals.
The final light rail project axed as part of the new Business Plan is the Dagenham Dock extension of the Docklands Light Railway. Funding has yet to be identified to implement the proposed extension through Barking Riverside to Dagenham Dock which would support the proposed plans. It is unclear whether the Barking Riverside housing development is a Government priority to 2018.
The 10 Year Business Plan is on the whole pretty bad news for trams and light rail with the only positive aspect being a project already well underway three-car trains on the DLR providing a 50% increase in capacity. But sadly in the current economic climate and with the major project of Crossrail already funded by central Government the money is just not available for major transport projects, particularly when cheaper alternatives of buses are readily available.
Peter Hendy, Transport Commissioner, said: The Mayor has set out his vision for the future and TfL's task is to deliver on time and on budget. I am confident we will. Alongside this massive investment is the need to deliver clear value for money for London's taxpayers and farepayers, to maximise the cost efficiency of TfL enabling fares to be kept affordable over the longer term. TfL has responded to this challenge by identifying £2.4bn in savings and efficiencies that we have built into our funding calculations and will use to help deliver key projects such as improving the Tube, expanding London Overground and enabling the construction of Crossrail. And we will continue to look for more savings including through a major review of London's bus network.
Source: Transport for London